These tournaments provide a great way to introduce your players and parents to the tournament environment and to the next level of play. They provide great motivation for players to work hard, increase their abilities and strive to become better players. They are also a great way to cap off your team’s season or treat your league all-stars. Most of these tournaments (the Early Bird Invitational is the exception) are scheduled in July when most leagues are winding down.

The point of contact for the Early Bird Invitational, Winfield CLASSiC, Mid Atlantic Recreational Open, and Mid Summer Challenge is Glen Warholic, 443-745-3177, gawarho@marylandstars.org, www.marylandstars.org.

Go here to see the tournament specific playing rules for the 10U age group. We make these modifications from the USSSA rulebook to make the game more suitable for this age group and level of play.

All of these tournaments feature awards for 1st and 2nd place for the team and the individual players. A three game guarantee (two games of pool play to seed teams into single elimination) provides each team with the opportunity to play all of their players.

To insure that your team gets to play in one of more of these tournaments, please sanction with USSSA, and then register and pay for the tournaments your team wants to play. These events have gained great popularity in the state and surrounding areas. Just last year over 20 teams were locked out of these events due to them filling up before these teams registered and paid. Tournament size is limited by available time at the parks used. Please plan early.

All teams must be registered with USSSA and properly insured with $2M liability insurance.

For more information about a specific tournament, please see the USSSA web site and contact the tournament director as appropriate. To register a team with USSSA or find out more information about USSSA Softball, see the USSSA Maryland/Delaware web site at www.usssa1.com.